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Malaysia is human trafficking hotspot - WikiLeaks
Bribe probe hits former Malaysian PM Abdullah Badawi
Bersih: It’s not about black or white
Malaysian King Makes Rare Thrust Into Politics

Malaysia is human trafficking hotspot - WikiLeaks

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT

Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

Thousands of women from Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, as well as China and India were trafficked to Malaysia for forced labor and prostitution, according to an unclassified 2006 cable from the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur released by WikiLeaks, the online whistle-blower.

In a memo to the US Department of State dated March 3, 2006, then US Ambassador to Malaysia Christopher LaFleur also reported that the Southeast Asian country was a "destination and -- to a lesser extent -- a transit country for men and women trafficked for forced labor."

"Some economic migrants from countries in the region who work as domestic servants and laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude," Lafleur disclosed.

Aside from the Washington-based State Department, the envoy also furnished the following US agencies copies of the embassy memo, titled "Malaysia's Sixth Annual Trafficking in Persons Report": Homeland Security Center, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, and American diplomatic missions in Southeast Asia.

In addition to women from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, "smaller numbers" of women from Cambodia, Burma and Laos were also trafficked to Malaysia, said LaFleur.

All eight countries are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean.

"Anectodal evidence indicates that numbers of victims coming from neighboring Asean countries have remained relatively constant over the last few years. The number and patterns of victims coming from source countries tend to reflect Malaysian government immigration and visa policies," the envoy pointed out.

According to LaFleur, China "has become the largest and fastest-growing source country for prostitutes in Malaysia. Many of these Chinese women and girls are likely trafficking victims."

"China has grown as a source country in recent years due to a more liberal Malaysian visa policy that reflects growing economic ties and Malaysian government efforts to encourage tourism and university enrollment from Chinese students," he explained.

LaFleur noted that "while there are no reliable statistics revealing the total number of women trafficked into (Malaysia), estimates can be made drawing from different sources."

"Foreign embassies and (non-government organizations') report that in 2005, at least 500 trafficking victims were rescued and repatriated," he said.

The US diplomat also revealed that "during the first nine months of 2005, 4,678 foreign women were arrested and detained for suspected involvement in prostitution, compared with 5,783 arrested during all of 2004."

"Chinese nationals accounted for 40 percent, the largest percentage of such arrests, followed by nationals of Indonesia (25 percent), Thailand (17 percent), and the Philippines (10 percent). According to the government-funded National Human Rights Commission, or Suhakam and involved NGOs, a significant number of these women were probable trafficking victims," said LaFleur.

The Royal Malaysia Police "compiles statistics on arrests of foreign women with suspected involvement in prostitution, broken down by nationality. The Immigration Department's enforcement division also collects data on trafficking cases."

However, "Malaysian authorities do not adequately distinguish illegal migrants from trafficking victims. Law enforcement officials assert that the great majority of the foreign women arrested for prostitution in Malaysia entered the country voluntarily and with valid travel documents."

On the other hand, "surveys by the Suhakam and interviews with Indonesian, Thai and Philippine embassy officials indicate that as many as 50 percent of foreign women arrested for prostitution are possible trafficking victims," said LaFleur.

The Malaysian government "encourages victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases, but reports says that most victims are unwilling to testify... One NGO reported that pimps and traffickers are often present in the courtroom during court proceedings to intimidate the victims."

In terms of prevention, "the Malaysian government took steps in 2002 and 2003 to toughen the criteria for young foreigners seeking student visas. It has also stepped up border detection for smuggling, illegal migration and people trafficking,"

LaFleur added "there is no evidence of widespread tolerance of complicity in trafficking-in-persons by government authorities, though accusations of more general corruption, particularly at the local police and immigration levels exist."

Bribe probe hits former Malaysian PM Abdullah Badawi

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 08:14 PM PDT

An AFP-led international corruption taskforce continues to work towards further arrests, having already charged seven former senior Securency and NPA executives with foreign bribery offences. Mr Abdullah is believed to have been involved in approving the contract won by the RBA firms to supply Malaysia with its polymer five Ringgit note, which began circulating in 2004.

Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker, The Age (Australia)

The Reserve Bank of Australia's banknote firms are suspected of attempting to bribe former Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi in order to get his help to win a $31 million currency contract.

Mr Abdullah is one of a several highly influential Malaysian political figures whom anti-corruption authorities believe Securency and Note Printing Australia— firms respectively half and fully owned and overseen by Australia's reserve bank— allegedly sought to bribe using part of $4.2 million in commission payments made to two Malaysian middlemen.

Malaysian sources confirmed to The Age that the Australian Federal Police have gathered information about attempts to bribe Mr Abdullah by Securency and Note Printing Australia, which are respectively half and fully owned and overseen by the RBA.

The Age sought comment from Mr Abdullah last night.

Asked about the approach to Mr Abdullah yesterday, an AFP spokesman said: "Given that matters relating to investigations into Securency International and Note Printing Australia are currently before the court, the AFP is unable to make any further comment."

It is understood the attempt to bribe Mr Abdullah related to contract negotiations that occurred around 2003, the year he became prime minister and finance minister. He served as prime minister until 2009.

Before becoming prime minister, Mr Abdullah was deputy to long-serving Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad.

The alleged attempt to bribe of Mr Badawi, who remains a serving MP, adds to the list of high-profile Asian politicians and central bank officials targeted by the RBA firms.

The AFP last week alleged Securency bribed Vietnam's former central bank governor by paying his son's English university tuition fees. Authorities in Malaysia last Friday arrested a former Malaysian central bank assistant governor accused of receiving two bribes from NPA.

The revelations about the attempt to bribe Mr Abdullah come as the fallout from Australia's plastic note bribery scandal continues to spread, with The Age reporting yesterday about the intimate involvement of senior officials from the Australian government trade agency Austrade in Securency's allegedly corrupt Vietnam dealings.

An AFP-led international corruption taskforce continues to work towards further arrests, having already charged seven former senior Securency and NPA executives with foreign bribery offences.

Mr Abdullah is believed to have been involved in approving the contract won by the RBA firms to supply Malaysia with its polymer five Ringgit note, which began circulating in 2004.

Securency and NPA's agents for the 2004 were former state MP and senior figure in the country's ruling party, UMNO, Dato Abdullah Hasnan Kamaruddin and arms trader Abdul Kayum, who was arrested and charged on friday with two counts of bribery.

Mr Kayum, who pled not guilty to the charges, worked as NPA and Securency's main middleman in Malaysia and allegedly promised the firms that he was able to convince senior Malaysian officials to buy the plastic bank note technology.

Several senior Securency and NPA former executives are believed to have been aware that payments to Mr Kayum may have been used to pay bribes. He acted as their agent between 2000 and 2007, before being sacked after an internal audit raised probity fears.

His hiring and subsequent receipt of several million dollars from the RBA firms raises further questions about the adequacy of supervision provided by the RBA-appointed directors of Securency and NPA.

Mr Kayum also represented one of the Pakistan Government's main weapons making facilities, the Air Weapons Complex, which is believed to play a central role in the nation's nuclear weapons program.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission yesterday refused to confirm or deny whether it was investigating the performance of the Securency and NPA boards after Greens leader Bob Brown and federal Labor backbencher Kelvin Thomson suggested last Friday that it should.

Former RBA deputy governor Graeme Thompson, who is also a former chief of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, chaired Securency and NPA during the 1999-2005 period the alleged bribes in Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia took place.

Bersih: It’s not about black or white

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:59 PM PDT

By Koh Lay Chin, The Nut Graph

TO go yellow or not to go yellow? This seems to be the question among Malaysians these days. In cyberspace, Malaysians of all backgrounds are writing, forwarding and sharing comments and articles about the planned 9 July Bersih 2.0 march.

But what exactly are people saying about the ideas and principles behind the march itself? And why are people deciding to march or not? Are the issues clearly black or white?

To march…?

The good news is that there are definitely diverse opinions about the march. The bad news is that conversations have degenerated somewhat into an "Us" against "Them" dichotomy. If you don't march or "go yellow", it has been implied you may be chicken. If you do march, you are just a plain government-hating oppositionist.

It would be a mistake to assume that people against the Bersih march, or unwilling to support it fully, are all rabid Barisan Nasional supporters. There are writers and commentators in civil society who have already pointed out various reasons why they would rather not march.

Some are unhappy that the march has been influenced, at best, or completely hijacked, at worst, by politicians and parties. Many are convinced that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who reportedly boasted he could call off the march with a call to Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, has his tentacles in the show. Although Ambiga swiftly negated his comments and Anwar later said he was taken out of context, the fact is that many people do indeed see this as a Pakatan Rakyat-influenced show.

With parties like PAS publicly backing and promising to send thousands to the rally, and PR politicians promoting the event, many are wary or uncomfortable with the idea of aligning or marching with politicians. There are also those who are anti-Anwar, anti-Pakatan, anti-BN, or anti-Perkasa who find being lumped under one umbrella unsavoury.

Others question the impact of a usual "pass a memorandum to the Agong" march, or insist that the electoral reform agenda itself has become but a side-show.

…or not to march?

While some who choose not to march have genuine ideological dilemmas, some other reasons cited for not marching are just baffling. The most perplexing is probably the argument that protesting in the city is a nuisance to taxi drivers and businesses or could cause traffic jams.

These groups seem to forget that peaceful protests are a hallmark of democratic, developed nations, and that avoiding some amount of traffic disruption is not more important than citizens' civil rights.

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:40 PM PDT

By James Hookway, The Wall Street Journal

Malaysia's king made an unusual foray into the nation's volatile political field by urging pro-democracy activists and political leaders to settle their differences before a major protest rally planned for later this week.

It was unclear whether the gesture would be enough to ease mounting tensions ahead of possible early elections.

The protesters Monday said they were reassessing whether to hold their July 9 march, organized to publicize demands for equal media coverage for all election candidates and for other electoral reforms, such as halting the past practice of people voting multiple times.

Police say they have arrested about 220 activists over the past week. They include six arrested twice—the second time Saturday—under an Emergency Ordinance that allows them to be held for 60 days without charge.

All are under investigation for plotting to overthrow the government and monarchy—some for wearing Che Guevara T-shirts, which are widely sold in street markets across Malaysiaand are popular among young tourists.

The group came under official scrutiny for demanding reforms in anticipation of elections being called by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Fresh elections are required under Malaysian law by spring 2013, but many analysts expect the prime minister to call them much earlier.

Malaysia's constitutional monarch, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, on Sunday issued a rare statement asking both sides to step back from the brink of a broader conflict.

Although his official powers are limited, the king—who carries the title yang di-pertuan agong in Malay, or His Royal Highness— is seen by some residents as the highest embodiment of Malay political supremacy, adding weight to his advice.

"The fact is, street demonstrations bring more harm than good," he said. "Instead, we should focus on our main objective to develop this country, and not create problems that will cause the country to lag behind."

Malaysia's predominantly Muslim Malay authorities call the proposed march an illegal act and argue that a multiethnic alliance of opposition parties is attempting to use it to bolster their momentumahead of the vote. Police officials have refused to provide permission for the demonstration to be held.

"Those who love rioting and chaos will take advantage of the situation. This is what we want to avoid," Prime Minister Najib said Monday, according to Malaysia's state-run news agency. He also said the government is willing to let protesters rally at a stadium instead of staging a march though the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main city.

This multiethnic country has become increasingly fractured along racial lines in recent years, with the ruling National Front losing ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian voters to a broad-based opposition alliance. Economic problems are also beginning to grow, with inflation recently hitting its highest level in two years.

A rival group known as Perkasa, which is pro-ethnic Malay, is planning a counter-demonstration on July 9, stirring fears of clashes.

On Saturday, the government outlawed the organization behind the initial demonstration—Bersih, or "clean"—which isn't officially registered. Bersih claims it is a coalition of existing registered organizations.

Bersih chairwoman Ambiga Sreenevasan denies the allegations. She also says the group is planning a legal challenge to the government's ban of the group. "I think the authorities are caught in a time warp," Ms. Ambiga, a 54-year-old ethnic-Indian and a former president of Malaysia's Bar Council, said in a telephone interview. "Perhaps they are paranoid because of the protests in the Middle East, but it's completely unnecessary. All we're aiming for are clean elections."

Amnesty International and other groups, such as Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, are urging the government to uphold Malaysians' rights to hold peaceful demonstrations and to allow the Bersih march to proceed.

Political analysts say the government isn't concerned about the Bersih march being a front for a subversive group, so much as it fears it will give opponents of Mr. Najib and his allies a boost ahead of any snap election.

The last time Bersih, formally known as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, held a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, tens of thousands of people turned out. The authorities responded by using water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds. A few months later, the ruling National Front coalition lost its two-thirds majority in Malaysia's Parliament for the first time in decades.

Mr. Najib took over the premiership in 2009 with the goal of halting the opposition's momentum. Modest economic reforms have helped win back some support for the ruling United Malays National Front. Authorities also arrested the charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and tried him for allegedly breaking Malaysia's strict sodomy laws, which he denies.

But analysts say Mr. Najib's government still risks losing seats in Parliament to the opposition in the next elections.

"Traditionally the pattern in Malaysia is for the government to present civil society as the opposition," said Bridget Welsh, a professor at the School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University. She said this explained why police, pro-government groups and government-controlled newspapers are accusing Communist sympathizers or even foreign Christian groups of playing a key role in planning the July 9 march, which its organizers' deny.

A handful of opposition politicians, meanwhile, are now challenging Malaysian authorities to arrest them, too, by wearing neckties, T-shirts or headscarves in yellow—the color of the Bersih campaign.

One member of Parliament, Lee Boon Chye, was arrested Thursday at a market in Ipoh, north of Kuala Lumpur, for wearing a plain yellow T-shirt. He was led away by police in handcuffs before being released later in the day.

"What democratic country arrests people for wearing yellow T-shirts?" Dr. Lee said.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Selasa, 5 Julai 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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